Digital Forensics Will Expose Financial Criminals – Prof. Sodiya

The chairman, Board of Diplomats for Digital Forensics, Chartered Institute of Forensics and Certified Fraud Investigators of Nigeria (CIFCFIN), Prof. Adesina Sodiya, has disclosed that the board’s performance will lead to the conviction of financial criminals through digital forensics.

He stated this shortly after the inauguration of the Board as well as the Board of Diplomats for Forensic Accounting and Auditing by the Chartered Institute of Forensics and Certified Fraud Investigators of Nigeria (CIFCFIN) at the Audit House in Abuja recently.

Prof. Sodiya advised that adequate attention must be paid to digital forensics as most activities of governments, corporate organisations and individuals are now being done on digital infrastructure or digital platform in order to check the activities of criminals, corrupt officials and fraudsters who exploit the loophole in the digital space.

He explained that digital forensics is about the acquisition of digital evidence and analysis of digital evidence and the scientific approach to investigation and prosecution. 

“So, you are not going to look at papers, you are not going to look at records and files but you will be looking at transaction movements, signal movements, communications, changes in data at rest and in motion; changes in digital records, and so on and so forth. So, we need specialised skills and knowledge to be able to track these people, and that is also our area of expertise,” he added.

Also speaking, chairman Board of Diplomats for Forensic Accounting and Auditing, Prof. Godwin Emmanuel Oyadokun, harped on the importance of forensics to financial accounting and audit and assured thar the board must wake up, get to work and close the gap in society with respect to the appropriate standards they must set and put in place for the Institute.

While inaugurating both boards, CIFCFIN president, Dr. Iliyasu Gashinbaki stated that the inauguration of the Boards was in fulfilment of the Act establishing CIFCFIN to set standards in all the areas, and in all the components of Forensics and Fraud Investigation.

He urged the boards to face the hard tasks head-on, adding that there are a lot of digital challenges.

The president also urged members of the Board for Digital Forensics to swing into action to tackle Ponzi Schemes, Yahoo Yahoo Boys, and the monumental fraud that happen in the digital space and called on the Diplomats for Forensics Accounting and Auditing to utilise their expertise as forensic accountants and forensic auditors to analyse financial statements, audited accounts among others to forestall fraud especially in the public sector.